Do I need a "receiver" for home theatre speaker system?

As the first guy explained, yes, you do.

It goes a bit farther than that. Before buying gear in an area where one doesn't yet know very much, one should take a little time and study up on the field, so that one can make both efficient and effective buying choices.

By the fact that you bought those speakers, I can see that you really didn't do that. Sony makes, I have to say, sorry, really bad speakers. If you can get a refund for that set, please do so, as you can do much, much better for the same money.

Now, as to some good info for buying choices. Yep, you need a receiver and a set of speakers. I presume that you will use your PS3 as the disc player, if/when you want to watch something in that format. So, we're just talking the receiver and speakers.

You can do well with as little as $500. A bit over $200 gets you a good quality HT audio receiver, such as a Pioneer 522K, and a good set of 5.1 speakers can be had for about $250, with a set such as the Polk 6750 $225, or 705 set for $250. Then, you'll need a few bucks for some 16 gauge speaker wire, at least 100 feet in total (Likely cost on Amaz*n.com, $12), a digital optical cable, which sends TV sound into the receiver (Amaz*n cost, around $6), and a couple of HDMI cables (Ditto).

Yes, the Polks don't look as spif as the Sony set, they just sound much, much better. At the end of the day, doesn't that count for more than how they look ?

Receiver For Speakers

Hi there, while most people will think receivers are needed, actually you have a few options, audio amplifier, which works the same, but you are limited on performance, unable to use optical cables for Hight Definition audio, but if you can't tell the difference then.., the speakers you bought are very good, personally i have work with them an the sound is neat, however, because they do not come with a receiver, i think for +/- $800 that is a shame, anyways, keep your opinions open, depending on what you have and what would you be adding to your home theater, personally i think a 5.1 receiver will do the work, they are cheap, reliable and easy to set up, also you can save some money by connecting everything to the receiver.

Home Theatre Receiver

Yes, like everyone mentioned you need a receiver to power the speakers. Sony, does not make there own speakers. The sound quality are not very good. For a receiver you should consider a Pioneer or an Onkyo brand, they make the best entry level receiver in the market. They are also the most reliable brand. Go online to Home Theater Magazine and read the reviews on receivers and speakers. It has been my guide for the past 25 years or so. Hope this will help you out.

For a lap top or computer you need a 5.1 sound card installed in the computer to get 5.1 surround; if you use a Home Theater you may only get stereo as you will only be outputting a stereo signal some speaker systems have a built-in decoder that will give a pseudo surround experience but some do not so if you feed it a stereo signal that is all you get out at the other end....

Yes you need a receiver.

Speakers are motors. They need an amplifier to take the weak signals from a PS3, cable box, DVD player etc. and add watts of power.

You also need an electronics package that gives you volume control, decoding, etc.

An AV Receiver is an electronics package and amplifiers in 1 enclosure.

Look at the Onkyo series of receivers. They pack a lot of features into their box's for decent prices.

The receiver is like the chief in the kitchen, you need the chief.